Originally Posted by
ZXiMan
I've always considered those kind of riders as "Poseurs".
A "Fred" to me is usually some old guy, sometimes with a beard or long-ish hair, wearing mountain bike shorts, a 1980-ish helmet, 1980-ish steel road bike with down tube shifters...
Who just dropped me.
I think you'd be right.
A True Fred is actually to be respected. They can fix about anything bike related w/ some wire, duct tape, etc. In the meantime, the typical sub-fred/poseur is at the mercy of the LBS's wrench and PBK's (Pro Bike Kit) shipping times. And while the typical sub-fred/poseur is cowering in their basement on their trainer and waiting for the 1st sunny, 70 degree day before putting their $5k "racing" machine on the tarmac, the True Fred is out there slogging it out night and day, rain or snow on a 30 pound fully fendered and panniered road bike, hybrid, or MTB. And while not doing this at the greatest speed, a true Fred on the typical sub-fred/poseur's bike would be
fast. True Freds rock, and all the while they don't give a flying F*** either way.
In the meantime, there's enough grey area between True Fred and Road Nazi to encompass about 95+% of the cyclists on BF, myself included.